McBride Family Adventures: Joseph Stephen McBride

On May 25, 2012 at 3:20 p.m., we welcomed Joseph Stephen McBride into our family! He weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. Joseph surprised all of us, as we were not scheduled to meet him until June 11th by a scheduled c-section. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the last portion of this pregnancy was accompanied by visits to the doctor twice a week to monitor the baby through a Non-Stress Test (NST). During my NST on Friday the 25th, it was determined that I was having regular contractions and that the baby was not responding the way he should. As a result, I was sent to labor and delivery to continue to be monitored.

After I was sent to the hospital, I called Toby to let him know about the recent developments and to request that he not go out of cell range, as we might be having a baby! Upon further monitoring, the doctor determined at 2:00 p.m. that we were going to meet the newest member of our family that day, and that the c-section was scheduled for 3:00 p.m. I then called Toby back and informed him that he needed to get ready and get to the hospital in an hour. This was not going to be easy. He was still working, needed to drive home, shower, and drive back to the hospital in less than an hour. Although I had my doubts, he said he would make it.

The next hour went by very quickly, and at 3:00, I was taken back to surgery without Toby! Luckily, there was still a little bit of time to spare, as they still had to administer the spinal once I was in the operating room. Also, my mom was at the hospital to serve as a back-up in the event that Toby did not make it in time. To my surprise, Toby did arrive in time to be in the room; however, he was not able to go into the operating room because my spinal did not work. As a result, they had to put me out during the c-section. Fortunately, Toby was there to meet Joseph for the first time and carry him to the nursery!

The downfall to being put out during the c-section is that it takes quite a long time for the anasthesia to wear off. So, I was not able to meet Joseph until about 5:30 p.m. Even though we were fairly certain that Joseph would be just fine upon delivery, he was still 3 1/2 weeks early and considered premature. So, it was a relief when I was able to hold our sweet baby and see for myself that he was doing well.

Joseph is such a wonderful baby. He sleeps for hours at a time, eats well, and hardly ever cries! We are so lucky and grateful to have four happy, healthy boys!

One of my best friends, Amy was my nurse before, during, and after the delivery!
She is an amazing nurse!
Amy is taking care of Joseph while Toby supervises.